Hamas abandons truce after Israel kills leader

Missile attack retaliation for suicide blast

August 22, 2003|By Joel Greenberg, Special to the Tribune.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel killed a top political leader of Hamas in an airborne missile strike Thursday in retaliation for a suicide bombing in Jerusalem that killed 20 people, prompting the militant group to call off a cease-fire it declared with other factions nearly eight weeks ago.

A Palestinian spokesman said the Israeli attack forced officials to abort a planned security crackdown on militant groups in Gaza hours before it was supposed to begin.

An Israeli helicopter fired five missiles at the car of the Hamas leader, Ismail Abu Shanab, on a Gaza City street, killing him and two bodyguards and wounding 15 passersby. The car burst into flames, and the charred bodies of the dead were later pulled from the wreckage by angry crowds chanting "God is Greatest."

The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced the end of the cease-fire it had declared with other militant groups on June 29, imperiling a U.S.-backed peace plan known as the road map, which outlines steps to end the violence and resume negotiations leading to the creation of a Palestinian state.

A statement issued by the Qassam Brigades said the killing of Abu Shanab had "put an end to the decision to halt military operations."

Ismail Haniya, a senior Hamas spokesman, said "the Zionist enemy has assassinated the truce" and that "we consider ourselves no longer bound by this cease-fire." Sheik Ahmad Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, warned: "The Israeli people will pay the price."

Thousands of Palestinians marched in Gaza City on Thursday night, demanding revenge.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas called the killing "an ugly crime" and "an operation against peace and against the peace process."

With the cease-fire shattered by the bus bombing and the Israeli response, the Bush administration struggled to rescue the road map plan, which appeared to be in danger of being swept away by the resurgent violence.

Secretary of State Colin Powell insisted there was no alternative to the peace plan.

"The end of the road map is a cliff that both sides will fall off," Powell told reporters at the UN in New York. "The alternative is what? Just more death and destruction, let the terrorists win. . . . This is not an acceptable outcome. Both parties realize it, and I think both sides should recommit themselves to finding a way forward."

The White House also urged both sides to move beyond the violence.

"Israel has a right to defend herself, but Israel needs to take into account the effect that actions they take have on the peace process," said spokesman Scott McClellan. "It's important for both parties to get back talking to one another. It's important for the parties to work together to resolve these matters."

The Israeli strike came hours after the Palestinian leadership, acting under intense U.S. pressure, approved plans for moves against Hamas and Islamic Jihad. An official announcement said steps would be taken to assert the rule of law, including "controlling weapons, outlawing all militarized phenomena and disturbances of the law by any party."

Palestinian security chief Mohammad Dahlan was meeting with local police commanders to prepare for action Thursday night when Israel struck, said his spokesman, Elias Zananiri.

"They were discussing details of the operation, lists of names and targets, and the division of missions: shutting down institutions and arrests, not only of military activists, but even of imams in mosques," Zananiri said.

But the killing of Abu Shanab upset those plans, Zananiri said.

"After the bombing in Jerusalem there was understanding among the people for the kind of action the Palestinian Authority was planning against Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but now the mood in the street has changed, and there isn't any chance that this campaign could go on," he said.

Israel and the Bush administration have demanded that the authority disarm and dismantle the infrastructure of militant groups, a requirement set out in the road map. In a telephone conversation with Bush on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon accused the Palestinian Authority of inaction and said there could be no political progress unless it moved against the militants, Israeli officials said.

Leader considered moderate

Abu Shanab, 53, an American-educated engineering professor who was jailed for 10 years by Israel, strongly supported the cease-fire and played a prominent role in talks with Abbas to arrange the halt in attacks. He defended the bombing in Jerusalem as a response to Israeli military measures such as killings of Palestinian militants, but he insisted that Hamas remained committed to the cease-fire.

Although he was considered a relative moderate in the Hamas leadership, Israel accused him of directing and approving attacks and helping the group rebuild during the cease-fire.